One would think that a political party seeking to make the move from opposition to government would know better than to cozy up to figures known for bombastic hyperbole, reckless political promises, an almost total inability to play nicely with others … and, oh, yeah, confessed criminal behaviour. But this apparently would come as news to the Ontario Progressive Conservative party, which continues to play footsie with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, Councillor Doug Ford.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is: during the last election campaign, Mayor Rob Ford mused about “phasing out” streetcars in favour of buses, only to back off once elected. On Wednesday, the councillor used the malfunction of older, worn-out streetcars during the extreme cold temperatures of late to bolster the Fords’ subway mantra.

Mayor Rob Ford’s re-election platform will include a pledge to put “every single penny we have to underground rapid transit, meaning subways,” said Councillor Ford. “Not streetcars that get frozen, not an antiquated system that has been around since 1900. We want a modern system, underground transit, getting people from point A to point B in as rapid a fashion as we can.”

Mr. Ford says the city should, at the very least, run its new bendy buses on streets such as King, Queen and Dundas.

“Nothing is more frustrating for people driving downtown and they get stuck behind a streetcar on Dundas, or King or Queen,” he said.

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But his idea was rejected by TTC CEO Andy Byford. For one thing, the city has already ordered 204 new, low-floor streetcars, at a cost of $1.2-billion, which will run on a different system that is purportedly less susceptible to extreme cold. The first ones will begin service this summer. Mr. Byford said that buses move fewer people than the new extra-long streetcars, so more buses would be required. That in turn would require more garage space, and more operators, he said. Queen Street’s cafe culture would hardly be the same with big bendy buses belching by, he added.

“My view would be the die is cast. We’ve ordered the new streetcars, they’re coming now. I think we need to make best use of the fleet we’re going to inherit,” said Mr. Byford.

Which isn’t to say that something shouldn’t be done about congestion in the core. Seemingly interminable waits for the King streetcar prompted Mr. Byford to float last year the idea of turning a stretch into a car-free zone during rush hour. The TTC is still looking at that, along with other less dramatic changes to parking or left-turn restrictions because Mr. Byford says that “to do nothing is not an option.”

As for subways versus LRTs, Mr. Byford believes a successful city has a range of transit modes. He can’t “for one minute” envision a Downtown Relief Line that isn’t a subway, but surface light rail is “viable” for less dense parts of the city. Council has, for example, approved a plan to build light rail on Sheppard and on Finch Avenue.

“At some point the city needs to bite the bullet, and I would love to see, for example, a subway under Queen, potentially under King,” said Mr. Byford, who also suggested that Dufferin could be a good candidate for a new north-south route.

“But at the end of the day there is an affordability issue, and there is the practical issue that I can’t change which is we have ordered 204 streetcars. To cancel them now would carry huge costs and would put back the solution by probably a decade.”

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